Complete Clean Eating Thanksgiving Feast

It’s the week of Thanksgiving and I’m doing things a bit different this year and getting a jump start on the holiday before it takes over my life, come Thursday 🙂

I’ve been learning how to slow down some and take time each day to relax and spend valuable time with my family…imagine that!! 🙂

Today’s tasks included getting my morning workout in…it was BRUTAL!! Leg day with some circuits and heavy weights thrown in. I must have been kicking some butt today cuz someone asked me “what are you training for” and I consider that a complete successful day already! Ran home to get in my Shakeology and then time to hit my “to-do” list.

First off was to make my lemon jam. We recently moved into a new home and there’s a lemon tree just oozing with ripened lemons and since I love my tea and jams in the “colder” weather (ya, you really can’t call So Cal “cold” but I figured saying “colder” would suffice), I could put those lemons to good use. Made a ginormous batch of jam and then went crazy baking some lemon pastries to freeze and save for Thursday. I’ve got a bakers heart at my core.

Now, to plan out the entire meal for Thursday so I can get a jump start on it tomorrow. Here is what will be served at our home and feel free to copy some of the recipes if you would like to.

First of all, the turkey! I usually roast mine in the oven, after I’ve cleaned it, rinsed and dried it well. I then put a whole apple in the cavity of the turkey (if not cooking the stuffing directly in the turkey) and coat with olive oil and herbs to season. I follow the baking directions for the size of the bird.

Next, the sides 🙂 I found this recipe for mashed squash and feel it would make me happy to enjoy as I would mashed potatoes! (my daughter will be making scalloped potatoes for the rest of the crew who want something a bit more naughty!) And grandma is bringing the stuffing so that takes care of my “side” dishes for sure! (who else loves simplistic?)

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add squashes and salt. Cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until partially tender, about 8 minutes (reduce heat if squash begins to brown). Add water, cover, and simmer over medium-high heat until completely tender and water has mostly evaporated, about 15 minutes. Mash with a potato masher. Season with pepper.

Next up, some Roasted Green bean casserole to keep the general food choices as “fun” as usual but with some clean “twists” 😉

Preheat oven to 450F/230C. Wash mushrooms and let drain. While mushrooms are drying, trim ends of beans and cut beans in half so you have bite-sized pieces. (An easy way to trim them is to gather a small handful of beans, stand them up on cutting board, holding loosely so they will fall down and have ends ends aligned, then trim. Repeat with other end.) Cut mushrooms into slices 1/2 inch thick.

Put cut beans and mushrooms into a Ziploc bag or plastic bowl. Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pour over, then squeeze bag or stir so all the beans and mushrooms are lightly coated with the mixture. Arrange on large cookie sheet, spreading them out well so beans and mushrooms are not crowded. Roast 20-30 minutes, starting to check for doneness after 20 minutes. Cook until beans are tender-crisp, mushrooms are cooked, and all liquid on the pan from mushrooms has evaporated. Season beans to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper, then sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan. Serve hot.

Of course, you’ll need a green salad, right? But no recipe needed for that 😉 and as for “rolls” here’s a clean version if you so choose to create.

Clean Eating Dinner Rolls (Makes 12 rolls)

Ingredients: 3-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 packet rapid-rise, highly active yeast

1 tablespoon honey

3/4 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F.)

1 teaspoon. sea salt

2 teaspoons onion powder

3/4 cup almond milk (or soy, hemp, cow or rice will work too)

2 tablespoon olive oil + extra for coating dough

1roll= 152 calories

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the honey and water and stir until honey is dissolved.

Once the yeast mixture is foamy, add the oil and milk and stir briefly.

Add the flour to the liquid mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it gets thick enough to knead with your hands (if you have a mixer, you can do this all in one bowl with a dough hook).

Knead for about 5 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky, but firm and smooth. If it’s too sticky, add a bit more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Coat the ball of dough in olive oil, cover the bowl with a towel and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.

Now break the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls.

Place on an oiled cookie sheet, cover with a towel and let rise for 1 more hour.

Brush the rolls with a small amount of milk (whichever type you used), using a basting brush.

Bake rolls for approximately 40-50 minutes. They should have a nice golden brown crust when done.

Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack (if you can wait that long. Mine were half gone before they got cool enough to put in storage).

Now time for DESSERT!!!! I know it can’t be a true Thanksgiving without a “pumpkin” pie style dessert. So here you go 😉

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 can pumpkin or 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

2 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp sea salt

For the whip topping:

1 can full fat coconut milk

2 T maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla beans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

In a food processor, combine all the cupcake ingredients and blend until smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides a few times.

Spoon the mixture into lined muffin pan. I used silicone liners for mine. They don’t stick like paper liners can.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Let these cool completely before removing from the muffin liners. Since they are soft like pumpkin pie, I highly recommend putting these in the fridge after baking. It should firm them up more.

To make the whip topping, open up your can of coconut milk that has been in the fridge overnight. Scoop the fatty white part off and place in a mixing bowl with the vanilla and maple syrup. Use the whipping attachment and whip the coconut into a cream. Scoop a little on top of each muffin. Enjoy!

That makes my heart happy and of course, the family time will only be the highlight of the day! Hope these recipes help you find what you need for the special day! Don’t miss my rundown of how I will handle the big day…workout and meal plan all laid out for you!

Still on track with my foods this week and not allowing any small setbacks to continue. Success means you get back up when you fall…not that you never falter. Happy meal planning!!